It has been a busy summer…continuing education trip, sister’s trip, and Churchwide assembly. Usually every month, we gather here to recap what we learned this month. But since summer has been crazy and usually is for a lot of us, Emily P. Freeman decided to do an end of the summer “What I Learned” so here is what I learned this summer!

(1) The Mountains are good for my soul! For the last six summers, I have been attending a continuing education event in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Every year when I arrive, I find myself breathing this holy sigh. It has shown me the vast beauty of God’s creation and also taught me that it is sometimes good to disconnect even just for a little while.

(2) I am indeed 100% a giver when it comes to happiness styles. As part of Jennifer Dukes Lee’s launch team for her new book “The Happiness Dare,” I took the happiness style quiz. Of the five styles, my top two are only separated by one point. I am a giver relater meaning I love to give rather than receive. I realized this this past week as I was able to buy coffee for some old and new friends. There truly is nothing that makes me happier than giving to others!

(3) Being at huge gatherings makes me realize how much of an introvert I truly am. To be honest, I am pretty good at being an extroverted introvert when I need to be. But when I am at huge gatherings, I am even more made aware of how much of an introvert I truly am! There is just something about having a few minutes to ones self.

(4) I love experiencing new places and their culture. Growing up, we didn’t travel much except to visit family. When I get to go somewhere new, I love eating their food and immersing myself in their culture. Last week, I was in New Orleans where I tried beignets from Café Dumonde, grilled alligator from Mulates, fried green tomatoes, a muffaletta, and a few different po’boys. I loved all the food I tried! Also loved walking down the streets to the sweet sounds of jazz music and seeing various different street performers along the way.

(5) Watching one of the kids you used to babysit get married instantly makes you feel older. I have known the bride since she was a baby. She is more like family than friends. I loved watching her marry her best friend. But it definitely made me feel older! 😛

(6) Even though my mom has been through so much, I still am so glad that she is still here. The week of the state fair, Mom came to spend the weekend with me. As she stayed with me, I realized how much I miss her not being able to live by herself. But I also realized how much I love having her still here.

(7) Twitter withdrawal is REAL! Yep it totally is! Last week, I interacted with and got to meet so many awesome people through Twitter. I loved tweeting out to them a quick good morning/good night tweet. Today I realized how much I miss each and every one of them and tweeted that out. Another friend tweeted back “Twitter withdrawal is totally real.” BINGO…that is exactly what I am feeling today!

(8) Apparently I have a good eye for taking pictures and matching what is around me. As my friends and I were walking around New Orleans, I asked one of them to take a picture of me standing in front of this beautiful green door since green is my fave color. I updated it to be my new profile picture and my friend MW said “You have such a good eye and you didn’t even know it. Even the paint on the building matches the dress.”

(9) Even when one writes a book, being called an author is still incredibly surreal!

I am linking up with Emily P. Freeman!